According to Blockworks, Bitcoin layer-2 solution Stacks has begun the rollout of its Nakamoto upgrade. This development, which follows the recent halving, is aimed at improving transaction throughput and ensuring Bitcoin finality for layer-2 transactions. The upgrade is expected to speed up block processing and finalize all settlements on the layer-1, allowing Bitcoin to maintain its security while becoming programmable, akin to Ethereum and Solana Virtual Machines.
Muneeb Ali, co-founder of Stacks, believes that the Nakamoto upgrade and the overall expansion of Bitcoin layer-2 infrastructure could reignite interest in the Bitcoin blockchain. Ali stated that users are now distinguishing between BTC as an asset and Bitcoin as a platform. He noted that BTC has established itself as a hedge or store of value, resulting in nearly $1 trillion in idle capital. Ali credits advancements like the Nakamoto upgrade for this resurgence.
The Stacks team anticipates that the Nakamoto upgrade rollout will continue over the next month, reducing block times from the current 10-30 minutes to approximately five seconds. Ali suggests that these enhancements will allow Bitcoin layer-2s to support the growing number of DeFi applications being developed. He also believes that the market is realizing that Bitcoin can serve as the base layer for the industry, with layer-2s facilitating an economic flywheel around BTC through apps and smart contracts.
In addition to the improved Bitcoin layer-2 infrastructure, Ali highlights that other types of innovations are also attracting significant interest in the Bitcoin blockchain. These include ordinals and BRC-20s, which experienced a surge in interest following Bitcoin’s all-time high last month. Ali encourages further research and development around layer-2s, Ordinals, Runes, and other innovations, predicting a layer-2 summer where the Bitcoin developer ecosystem and competition intensify post-halving.
